Improvement in harvesters



MQLAFUN.

Improvement in Ha rvesters. 10.128,538'. Patentedjuly2,l872`.

MATTHEW LAFLIN, on CHICAGO, ILLINoIs.

IMPROVEMENT IN HARvEsTERfs.

. Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 1.2.8,638, dated July 2, 1872.

SPECIFICATION. To all whom it may concern: Y

Be it known that I, MATTHEW LAFLIN, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain Improvements in Reapers and Mowers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing. 1 My invention consists of certain improvements in reapers and mowers, whereby the height of its cut can be regulated at will; also, in certain other features of detail, hereinafter more fully described.

Figure l is a side elevation; Fig. 2, a longitudinal vertical section; and Fig. 3, a bottom-plan view of the seat with the devices for throwing the mechanism in and out of gear.

The machine I construct with a frame, A, mounted on two large wheels, one of which carries the driving-gear and operates a camwheel, D, which -in turn operates a lever, I, that is connected by a pitman to the sickle, as described in a patent'heretofore granted to L. B. Hoit and myself-these parts containing nothing new. rlhe fin ger-baris connected, by a drag-bar, G, to the end of the axle outside of the wheel, as shown in Fig. 1. In the front end of the shoe, which is slotted for the dragbar Gr to pass through it, I pivot a cam or ec. centric, H, so that as it is turned over back j it will bear on top of bar G and thereby elevate the front end of. the shoe, and thus raise the finger-bar and sickle. To operate this cam H, I pivot a lever, T, on the outer end of the axle, as shown in Fig. 1, and connect it, by a rod, P, with the cam, so that, by shoving the lever 'I back and forth, the shoe with the sickle can be raised or lowered at will, and without stopping the machine. To raise the sickle from the ground I use a lever, L, which is pivoted on the .axle inside of the frame, and has a chain, m, passing from it around a pulley, p, on the rear of the frame, as shown in Fig. l. To hold this lever in place and prevent it from falling over back, out of the reach of the driver, I connect to its lower end a spiral spring, a, which has its opposite end attached to the rear end of the frame, as shown in Fig. 1. By this means the lever is always held in position where it canbe readily grasped by the driver, and is still loose to permit it to move with the movement of the finger-bar as it passes over the undulations of the ground. To support the cam-wheel D and the bracerods that hold the shoe laterally, Iusea metal frame, B, of L-form, as represented in Fig. 2, similar to that shown in the patent heretofore referred to 5 but I construct this frame with its inner upright arm of sufficient length to form a support for the seat, its upper end being suitably enlarged for that purpose. The seat is bolted securely upon this arm C, and itsopposite end is supported by two braces, e, at tached at their lower ends to the main frame A, as shown in Fig. l. By this means I simplify and cheapen the construction, and render the parts very strong and secure. The cam-wheel, D, as stated, is supported between the upright arms C of the metal frame B 5 and as shown in Fig. 3, the pinion k, that com municates motion from the main wheel to the cam-wheel D, is mounted on the journal t of the latter, the cam-wheel being hollowed out on its end, so as to permit the hub to enter it; and on its inner end the hub of the pinion k has a couple of grooves or notches, s, formed longitudinally in its sides, a clutch, consisting of a ring, u, with two arms, r, projecting from its face, the ring being mounted loosely on the inner journal of the cam-wheel D, and

the arms r sliding and resting in holes bored through the central hub of the wheel D. The ring u is provided externally with a circumferential groove, in which rests a yoke, fu, to which a rod, n, is attached, the opposite end of this rod being connected to a lever, l, that is pivoted to the under side of the seat E, the front end of this lever Zprotrudin g at the front of the seat, as shown in Fig. 3. To' the front under edge of the seat a bar, h, is secured, this bar being cut away so as to leave a space for the lever Z to move back and forth in, and there being a notch cut in the bar near each end, in which a spring, o, fastened4 to the under side of the lever l engages, and thereby holds the pinion and cam-wheel in or out of connection, according as the lever is adjustedy to' one or the other side 5 and this being under the seat, is within easy reach of the, driver.

It will be observed that by this construction all the levers are brought within reach of the l driver, and the machine, as la whole, is very 3. The metallic frame B, having its arm C, constructed as described, so as to serve as a support for one end of the seat.

4. The arrangement of the pinion 7c,wheel D, and clutch u with the lever l, pivoted to the under side of Vthe seat, and connected to the clutch, as set forth.

MATTHEW LAFLIN.

Witnesses J. MGKENNEY, W. G. DODGE. 

